Listen to the Dragons
by xXx Fantasy xXx
Summary: Meet Ayelin Blue, 17, who lives in a non-magical world. She is called upon by the dragons for a mission in Earth Land only she can complete with her magic, but she must keep her identity a secret. Pre-time skip. Possible romance. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. To Be Called Upon

**A/N: Alright! So, this is my first Fairy Tail fanfic. I actually just started reading the manga (and sort of watching the anime) about a week ago. I finally caught up to the rest of you Fairy Tail mavens yesterday, so sorry for being a newb. =P **

**Anyway, yeah, I know how much people usually despise OC-comes-from-our-world-and-goes-to-manga-world-and-steals-[insert character name here]'s-heart, but deal with it. xD Besides, it's not a romance story. It's an adventure story!**

**Plus, I sort of have a thing about creating OCs…read my Naruto stories "Pawns of Fate" and "The Whole Story" and you'll understand my unnatural obsession with creating my own characters and storylines. -_-**

**Meh. So. Just give the story a shot, will you? I swear, I won't make the characters go all OOC on you guys. Just trying to put my own unique spin on the story. **

**ANYWAY! READ AND REVIEW! SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT! FLAMES ARE TOTALLY ACCEPTED, SO LONG AS THEY'RE POINTED AND MEANINGFUL! BUT, OF COURSE, ENCOURAGING REVIEWS ARE ALSO VERY, VERY WELCOME! **

**Here goes nothing.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL. But I do own my OC – Ayelin.**

**Expanded summary: Ayelin Blue is a 17-year-old girl from another world, where magic doesn't exist except in fairytales and myths. Little does she know, she possesses magic. Not only that, but the dragons of Earth Land need her and her magical powers in order to protect not only their worlds, but her own. With only a note from Igneel and the hope that she'll be accepted by the one guild she'd been dreaming about since she read about them in her world, she sets off on a journey to protect the worlds and find out who she really is. All she can do is listen to the dragons and hope they have some sort of plan in mind. Takes place pre-time skip. Possible OCxcanon character.**

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><p><strong>LISTEN TO THE DRAGONS<strong>

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><p><em>Chapter 1 – To Be Called Upon<em>

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><p><em>Year 777<em>

They had left in silence.

Why they left remained a secret to all those who inhabited Earth Land. It was probably one of the biggest mysteries they had ever encountered. Perhaps, some theorized, they were scared away by some dark, mysterious force? Did that mean that Earth Land was in danger?

Still others were convinced that they simply disappeared because it was the end of their lives. _Dragons die too, you know._

Hearing these sorts of rumors always made Igneel's skin burn fiercely. It was just his pride, really, that made him act this way. Dragons _running away_? Dragons _dying_? Just like that? He wouldn't hear it. After all, he was the Igneel, the one and only fire dragon.

Metalicana would respond similarly, though he tended to avoid hearing these small pieces of news from the land he left. It didn't matter what they said, he would tell himself. _What's done is done_. And, with that, he would go on being his usual selfish self, uncaring.

But Grandeeney could see through his simple-minded façade. Unfortunately, bringing these sorts of topics up with both dragons was not something she wished to do since she wanted to avoid argument, but she could tell that Metalicana was inwardly worried about his foster son, Gajeel. He would often space out, staring at the blank nothingness of the everlasting clouds surrounding them, until Igneel startled him back into reality.

She, herself, was particularly worried about her own foster child, Wendy, though she did her best to hide it for fear of triggering any sort of negative emotion in Metalicana. Igneel, however, did nothing to hide his worry. Day and night, he would tell stories of his days with Natsu, proudly showering his foster child with kind words of praise. That is, until he remembered that he left this child he was so fond of and became silent again.

These sorts of things happened every day for days on end. The days blurred. Where they were, time moved much faster than in Earth Land, so whenever they switched out of watch duty and returned their attention to the world they were in, they realized how long it had actually been. In fact, one day in Earth Land was easily three months for them. Just like the Spirit World.

It's not like they had a choice. They wouldn't have left Earth Land if they could help it. Still, if they had stayed…

If only. If only they could have stayed. But it was safer where they were, far away from Earth Land, solemnly watching over it like the gods would, if they existed. And this remained true for a long time, even longer in their cases. A little less than 630 years.

Then, _he_ made an appearance.

And whenever _he_ makes an appearance, that means something is up.

"Igneel," Grandeeney said, panicked, her eyes fixated on the image in front of her. She wished she could say it wasn't real. She wished she had the power to go back to Earth Land and fix whatever was wrong.

"I know," Igneel replied through gritted teeth.

Metalicana, who appeared behind them to see what was wrong, quickly went into an angry rampage. "What? What is this? Why is_ he_ there?"

"Calm down, Metalicana," Igneel ordered, glaring intensely at the angry steel dragon. "You know as well as I do that he isn't the real problem here."

The three dragons remained in silence for a few moments before Grandeeney spoke up.

"So, what do you think caused him to show up, now of all times?" she asked, worriedly.

Igneel shook his head. "I don't know. That's the issue." He turned his attention back to the foreboding image.

Metalicana stomped his feet. "We _must_ figure out why he's there! This is an emergency!" He gave an oddly uncharacteristic pleading look at the image. "If he's there, then Earth Land is in danger."

Igneel sighed. "Then, I guess we have no choice." He opened up a magic portal which allowed him access to other worlds. The only hole that was blocked was the one to Earth Land. It bothered him that the world he wanted to visit the most was out of his reach, but that could not be helped. His only option was to ask for help from other worlds.

And he knew just the person to ask.

"Igneel, what are you doing?" Grandeeney asked as the swirling blue and green portal glowed, an indication that it was ready to use.

"Calling on someone from another world," he replied.

"Another world?" Metalicana repeated, bewildered. "_Someone_? Do you even know this person?"

"It's the only person I know who could help us." Metalicana was about to interrupt when Igneel stared at him with an intense, pleading look. "Please, Metalicana. Trust me."

The steel dragon backed down reluctantly. "Okay then. Who is this person?"

"She's a girl from the planet Earth."

Metalicana immediately went on the offensive again. "What? What do you mean, Igneel? You know those people are unaware of their magical powers. How can we trust such an important mission to someone so inexperienced and unknowledgable?"

"Because," Igneel explained, "like I said, she's the only one who could help us. We _need_ someone who would be on equal ground with _him_, right?" The other two dragons nodded. "Well, she can do that. She's the only one."

They stood there in silence again. Igneel simply stared at the swirling blue and green, wondering exactly what his plan was. But there was no turning back now.

He spoke confidently to the portal. "Bring out Ayelin Blue."

The swirling colors began to swirl even faster, glowing brighter than ever before. Suddenly, a single thick string of light shot out of the middle of the portal landed on the ground next to Igneel. The light formed into the shape of a human and suddenly dissipated to reveal the bewildered, slightly shaky form of a small human girl.

Her eyes bulged. Her mouth gaped open. She shook violently as she stared at the dragons surrounding her.

"Looks like she's scared shitless," Metalicana said with a sneer.

"You, be nice," Grandeeney scolded. Her warm gaze fell upon the small girl. "Hello, Ayelin. Are you okay?"

The girl looked down, still shaking. "J-Just one question…" she said quietly.

"Yes?" the three dragons asked in unison.

Suddenly, she glared up at the creatures and yelled, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

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><p>Never in her entire life would she have seen this coming.<p>

She'd read the books. She'd learned all the different, twisted fables and myths. She'd almost believed them at one point in her life. But never would she have expected anything to happen to her.

Sure, she'd had dreams about these sorts of things. But since when do they actually happen, anyway?

There could only be one explanation for this. She was insane.

And now, she was staring at the bewildered faces of three mythical creatures. _Great. Wonderful. I really am delusional_, she though, sighing to herself. She even let herself go enough to yell at them, no less. Not like it really mattered. They were simply illusions.

"Er, Ayelin?"

Ayelin glanced up wearily at the white dragon who, she realized, had been so kind to her. "Uh, hello. Sorry. Didn't mean to yell."

The dragon simply shook her head. "No, we're sorry for frightening you. But, you see, there's something extremely important we need you to do for us, so it was necessary to bring you here like this."

Ayelin blinked. "Um, what?"

The rude dragon snorted. "Remember? She doesn't know what magic is."

Ayelin blinked again. "Magic?" Then, remembering that this was all a delusion, she decided to play along. She took on a haughty stance and smirked. "Oh, of course, I know what magic is! I use it all the time. In fact, I'm the best magic-user in the world!" She chuckled. "So, I'd be careful what you say, Mister I'm-All-That."

The rude dragon narrowed his eyes at her. "_What_ did you just call me?"

Ayelin smirked again. "If you had proper ears, you'd have heard me."

"Oh, I heard just fine," the dragon growled as he began to advance towards her. However, the white dragon gave him a look that told him to lay off. He snarled again. "Who invited her here anyway? I don't want this bitch taking care of something that I could take care of myself!"

_Bitch?_ Ayelin narrowed her eyes at the dragon. "Well, I don't recall being informed that I was gonna be interrupted from my homework just so I could talk to an ignorant, selfish bastard like _you_!" Before anyone could interrupt, she continued ranting. "But delusions don't work that way, I guess! They just kinda happen when you least expect them to, right? So whatever. I'll play along. I'm already insane. Can't fight what's already done."

After her short rant, she realized that the dragons were all staring at her, again in bewilderment.

"What did I do now?" she growled angrily. "Did I hurt your egos? Jeez, why did my imagination create such idiotic, stupid illusions like - !"

"Ayelin, you think we're illusions?" the third dragon interrupted.

Ayelin crossed her arms stubbornly. "Well, of course you are. What else could explain…this!"

The dragon shook his head. "Ayelin, I'm afraid you're mistaken. This is real. I have summoned you here."

"T-That's what an illusion would say!" Ayelin blurted out, her previous confidence diminishing under the pitying gaze of the dragons. She glanced at each of their faces staring at her as if she were really crazy – and truly, she felt like she was, at that moment – and stepped backward. "Why…why are you all looking at me like that?" She looked down, her eyes betraying her fear. "I might actually believe you if you keep looking at – "

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" the rude dragon interjected, stomping towards her angrily. She jumped and moved backwards until her back ran up against an invisible wall. The rude dragon moved closer to her, close enough that his face was only a foot from hers.

"We. Are. Real." He said this assertively, giving her no reason to argue. Somehow, she could tell that he was telling the truth.

As he backed away, Ayelin fell onto her knees, staring at the ground. "I…can't believe this," she muttered.

"It's okay, I know it's hard to believe…" the white dragon began.

"I can't believe…I just yelled at real dragons," Ayelin said as if surprised and disgusted at her own actions. She shook her head. "I am so sorry. I thought…I thought it was my imagination so I could say whatever I wanted. I didn't mean any of it."

"Say that while looking me in the eye," the rude dragon ordered mockingly, almost teasingly.

Ayelin looked up at the dragon, a fierce, determined look in her emerald green eyes. "I'm sorry," she repeated slowly. "I mean it."

The dragons froze, surprised at her solemn expression and determined resolve. Somehow, there was no fear in those eyes. Only determination. Only acceptance. Only regret.

Ayelin hesitated, looking down again. "Actually, I have been dreaming of something like this happening to me for a long time. I just can't believe I rejected it when it finally did happen…" She trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, why exactly am I here anyway?"

"Now she asks…" the rude dragon muttered.

"Metalicana, please," the white dragon said, sighing. "There's no need to patronize her."

"Grandeeney's right, you know," the third dragon added with a stern look. "I didn't exactly give her fair warning."

_Metalicana…_ Ayelin's eyes widened. _And Grandeeney? _She looked at the third dragon. _Then, is that...Igneel? That means that this is…_

"Fairy Tail?"

The three dragons glanced down at Ayelin, who was now standing at staring at them with awe and amazement.

"…what?" Metalicana inquired, confused.

"You guys are from Fairy Tail, right?" Ayelin practically shouted. Then she hesitated. "I mean, not exactly _from_ Fairy Tail, but…well…you know…the world of Fairy Tail…"

"How do you know about Fairy Tail?" Metalicana asked, his eyes narrowing. "You're not from that world…"

Igneel smirked. "Exactly. She's not from our world. But she knows about Fairy Tail." He glanced at the other two dragons. "Catching on yet?"

"But…how?"

"I've read books," Ayelin answered matter-of-factly. "But…I never thought that this place was real…"

"What do you know about Earth Land?" Metalicana asked.

Ayelin brushed her long brown hair back from her face and sighed. "Well, I know that there's a land called Fiore in it. That's really the only place I know in Earth Land. Are there more?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Don't answer that yet. Anyway, I know about the existence of mages and mage guilds, in particular one guild called Fairy Tail located in Magnolia. The books I've read all cover the adventures of that guild."

"And what do you know about Fairy Tail?"

Ayelin raised an eyebrow. "It would take all day to explain that. Do you really want me to?"

"Just give me the basics."

Ayelin sighed again. "Well, uh…Lucy is a Celestial Spirit mage or something like that. She's the main character of the stories I've read. Natsu, the dragonslayer, brought her to Fairy Tail…" She saw them perk up when she mentioned "dragonslayer."

"You know what a dragonslayer is?" Metalicana asked, this time with even more interest.

Ayeline smirked this time, knowing that she knew more than these dragons expected her to know. "Well, of course. The tradition dragonslayers have dragon parents, as far as I know, though there are some that have dragon lachryma implanted inside of them or something. In fact," she paused for a second as she racked her brain for a name, "some guy later in the story said something about there being three different types of dragonslayers, those like Natsu, those like Laxus, and those like him, who had both dragon parents and an implanted dragon lachryma…or something like that."

Ayelin glanced up at Metalicana's surprised face. She smirked again. "And, yes, I do know that you once raised a dragonslayer. Gajeel, right? Good thing he ended up a good guy in Fairy Tail, huh?"

Metalicana and Grandeeney both stared at her in awe. "How do you know all this?" they both asked in unison.

"Like I said, books," Ayelin replied with a satisfied grin.

Igneel chuckled. "Impressive, isn't it?"

Grandeeney nodded. "Most certainly. However…I'm still curious to know how she could help us."

"Oh, yeah, about that!" Ayelin exclaimed, facing Igneel. "Why me?"

Igneel sighed. "I am going to explain it in the simplest way possible. Do not interrupt me until I am finished, okay? It may seem surprising."

"I'm pretty sure all the surprise has been sucked right out of me," Ayelin joked. "So, go ahead. I won't interrupt."

"Well," Igneel began. "I've been watching other worlds for a while now, practically since we had to leave Earth Land in the year 777. You know about that, right?" When Ayelin nodded, he continued. "I was searching for something which may be able to help us in case a crisis came up. When I came across Earth – your planet Earth –I noticed there was some magical power there."

Igneel nodded his head. "Yes, it's hard to believe, but that's how I found you, an ordinary girl, the only girl on Earth who possesses magic. You see, you have an extremely interesting power…a power even I can't exactly explain. In any case, I would probably consider you an Elemental mage, for you have the power to control the elements. That includes ice, fire, earth, air, water…certainly a step up from just having access to one of the elements, hm?"

"Whoa," Ayelin breathed. "Really? I have that power?"

"Yes, you do," Igneel said, chuckling. "But you also have another power, a power which is far more crucial to us." He paused for a second.

"And…?" Ayelin persisted impatiently.

Igneel looked thoughtful. "Have you ever heard of a dragon called Acnologia?"

Ayelin nodded. "In the stories I've read, that dragon nearly destroyed Tenrou Island and, like, half of the Fairy Tail guild. Super powerful. Even Zeref fears it, from what I understand."

Igneel nodded. "Definitely powerful. But, let me tell you this, Acnologia is actually not our enemy.:

Ayelin was confused. "What? Seriously?"

"Yes," Igneel said. "He's supposed to be the most powerful defender of the worlds. Not only ours. Any world where there is any trace of magic. However, he only shows up when there is something terribly wrong…"

Igneel fell silent. Ayelin was silent as well as she tried to process this information. Then, she finally understood.

"Acnologia is back, isn't he." It wasn't a question. It was a fact which the three dragons confirmed solemnly.

"Unfortunately," Igneel said, hesitating. "That's how it is."

"But what can I do about it?"

"Ah, I was just getting to that," Igneel answered. "Remember, no interruptions." Ayelin nodded silently, and he continued. "Now, we dragons can't go back to Earth Land yet. I can't tell you why, but that's that. However, we _need_ to speak to Acnologia as soon as possible. And, besides us, you are the only one he will listen to."

Ayelin blinked. "Me? But, why me?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I told you that even I can't exactly explain this power that you have. But, somehow, you have this way, this power, over dragons. Even us. Even Acnologia. He will listen to you."

"A-Are you sure?" Ayelin hesitated. "I mean, how do I know - ?"

"If Igneel says it, it's probably true," Metalicana interrupted, his voice somber. "Even I can detect something different about you…"

Ayelin glanced at Grandeeney, who nodded in agreement. "They're right," she said.

Ayelin look back at Igneel. "So, let me get this straight. My mission is to find Acnologia and convince him to talk to you?"

Igneel nodded.

"And, if everything you've said is true, then it shouldn't be problem?"

"Essentially…but you have to consider the fact that finding Acnologia will not be an easy task."

"Okay…" Ayelin said slowly, thinking. "Okay. I think I understand what's going on. Is my task really as simple as that?"

The three dragons exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads simultaneously.

Ayelin beamed. "Awesome. You can count on me!"

"Good," Igneel said, nearly smiling.

"Um…" Grandeeney said, nudging Igneel. "I think I should mention a few bits of information that might help you out on your journey."

"Like what?" Ayelin asked. "Oh, wait, give me a second." She pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil from her pocket. When the dragons only stared at her, she smiled again and said, "Aspiring journalists have to be prepared at all times, right?"

Grandeeny glanced at Igneel, and then continued. "First of all, you should know that Grimoire Heart, which is a – "

"A famous dark guild in the Balam Alliance, yeah, I know," Ayelin said, scribbling on her pad. She paused to glance up at the white dragon. "And…?"

"We have confirmed that they are based somewhere in the Grenadine forest about fifty miles north of Magnolia," Grandeeney finished. "Chances are, Acnologia knows this. He'll probably be hanging around there quite often."

"It's a start, anyway," Ayelin said, sighing, as she scribbled more notes. "Anything else?"

"Be especially careful when it comes to Grimoire Heart," Igneel added, his voice taking on a darker tone. "Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew about your power and tried to use it for their own purposes…"

"Of course," Ayelin muttered, still writing. She sighed. "Any suggestions as to where I should go first?"

"Well," Igneel said, "I would probably try to find a permanent place to stay and join a guild."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ayelin protested, "I thought this was supposed to be a simple mission? Just find Acnologia and take him to you! Why do I have to do all that pointless stuff?"

"Pointless?" Metalicana brought his head down to her level so that she could clearly see his cold, serious eyes. "Girl, you don't understand, do you?" Ayelin, whose eyes were wide with surprise and confusion, shook her head slowly. Metalicana laughed coldly. "Acnologia isn't something you can just _find_. You have to earn the right to find him. Do you get it?" She simply stared at him unblinkingly.

"You have to become a proper mage," Metalicana said slowly.

"Proper mage…?" Ayelin repeated.

"That's right. A proper mage. And that means being part of a guild and building up your skills to a point where you can rightfully call yourself a mage. Do you understand?"

She understood perfectly, but somehow, she couldn't get her body to move. She was paralyzed. With fear? No – with anxiety. She thought that she understood everything she needed to know about this world. After all, she was practically a God in that she knew everything that happened with everyone (almost). But now, she wasn't so sure. Sure, she _knew_ about this world. But did she have what it takes to live in it? Did she really understand what she was getting herself into?

That uncertainty scared her the most.

_Still_…

_I can't give up this opportunity. _

And with the strength of that thought, she nodded her head.

"I understand."

Metalicana scrutinized her face, the determined expression, the anxious but resolute look in her eyes, and grinned. "I see." He looked at Igneel. "I think she's ready to go."

Igneel nodded. "Okay, then." He nodded towards the magic portal that they used to watch over Earth Land. "That, there, is a portal. It'll take you to a special place in Earth Land, protected by various magical enchantments. It's not an easy place to find, but that's simply to protect our location. If you ever need to talk to us, simply go to that location, touch your hand to the large stone that you'll find there, and say one of our names. Depending on the situation, we'll either take you back here or talk to you from there, though the latter takes up less magic so we'd prefer that."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Ayelin agreed, nodding. "Okay, so I can just walk through that portal then?"

Igneel nodded. "Go ahead. We'll be watching over you."

"Yeah, try not to do anything stupid, 'cause we'll know," Metalicana teased with a wink.

"Be careful!" Grandeeney added.

"I will!" Ayelin said as she made her way over to the portal. She waved one time, a huge grin plastered to her face. "I'll be back in no time!"

Then, she disappeared into the portal.

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><p>Ayelin opened her eyes. <em>Where am I?<em> she thought, disoriented. Then, suddenly, she remembered the task that the dragons had given her.

She looked around her. Currently, she was laying against a large rock, which was centered in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by trees and bushes on three sides and a giant rock wall on the other. Looking up, she realized that the rock wall was the side of a mountain. Past the trees on the opposite side of the wall, sure enough, was another cliff, overlooking a vast forest.

_So I'm on top of a mountain_, she concluded. _Cool._

With that, she stood up and searched for a pathway, only to find that the only way out was to jump off the cliff or climb up the mountain. She sighed. _Of course. They said it wasn't an easy place to find, after all_.

She began walking towards the cliff on the other side of the trees to see how long the drop was. Much to her dismay, directly beneath the cliff was a giant, dark chasm. She turned back around to try to find another way, when she realized that the rock in the center had disappeared.

_Is it the magical enchantments?_ She thought, panicked. _Oh no, what if I can't find it again…!_

However, she realized that, as she moved closer, the rock appeared again as if it had never disappeared. She sighed in relief, and fell to the ground.

"I'm tired…" she mumbled. Laying on her side, she decided to pull out her notes and read them again, in case something inspired an idea to get her out of this mess. She read through the notes, focusing on every single detail, until she reached the last page. She threw her notebook across the clearing out of frustration.

"You stupid piece of crap, you're not helping me at all!" she shouted angrily. Tears felt like they would fall at any moment. This wasn't what she had expected to happen in her first minutes in this world.

It was about then that she noticed another piece of paper had fallen out of her notepad. Quickly, and hopefully, she raced over and snatched the piece of paper. On it, in nearly illegible script, a message was written.

_Ayelin,_

_I couldn't mention this around the others for fear of upsetting them, but I have another task that I want you to do._

_Take care of Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy, okay? I'm worried about them, particularly where Grimoire Heart and Acnologia are involved. I feel as if they might be in danger. _

_That means that you should join Fairy Tail. Don't worry about your current skill level, Makarov will understand. More than you realize, in fact. _

_Igneel_

Ayelin read the message twice, three times, and nearly smiled.

"Fairy Tail, huh…" she said to herself, her excitement growing. "That should be fun."

She was going to meet Lucy and Natsu. And Happy. And Gray. And Mirajane. Erza. Gajeel. Elfman. Makarov. Maybe even Laxus and Gildarts, if she was lucky.

A dream come true…

She peered down at the message again. At the bottom, in tiny writing, there was a short postscript.

_P.S. To get out of here, just jump off the cliff. Trust me. _

She didn't so much as hesitate before she ran past the trees and leaped off the cliff.

"FAIRY TAIL, HERE I COME!"

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><p><strong>AN: Aaaaaaand, that's it for chapter 1! Sorry, it's kind of a boring chapter what with all the talking and stuff, but it's necessary, you know? **

**Please review! I wanna hear what you have to say about this story. **

_**A preview of what's to come…**_

**Ayelin has finally made it to Magnolia. However, getting into Fairy Tail isn't going to be as easy as she thought, not with all the suspicion in the guild surrounding her sudden appearance, inexplicable knowledge, and mysterious background. What is she going to do? Find out in ****Chapter 2: To Be Suspicious****. **


	2. To Be Suspicious

**A/N: So, now it's time to get to the real story! This is where all of our favorite characters make their first appearances! =) My favorite part~**

**So, just so you know, I'm going to try my best to make my OC as non-Mary-Sue-ish as possible. I know that's easier said than done, but hey, it's worth a shot. I'll do my best. I hope you guys can come to like her! **

**Oh, and maybe you could suggest possible future pairings? I'm still sticking with GerardxErza, but everything else is fair game. =D Let me know if you have any suggestions!**

**And thanks to my one, lone review! I'm happy that I even got a review. =3**

**Let's get ready to rumble!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail. Shame.**

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><p><strong>LISTEN TO THE DRAGONS<strong>

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><p><em>Chapter 2 – To Be Suspicious<em>

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><p>"<em>Jump off the cliff, <em>he said. _Trust me_. Bah. I'm never going to listen to that damn dragon again."

Ayelin grumbled as she trekked slowly in no particular direction, hoping to find some sort of civilization. Her legs were beginning to drag behind her as she walked. _Not a good sign._

_Why didn't I think to ask how to get to Magnolia from here? _She thought angrily. _And why the hell did I just JUMP off that cliff without thinking?_

It was true, Igneel had told her to jump off the cliff. It was also true that, in doing so, she fell into the chasm below, which somehow spat her back up and landed her in the middle of nowhere, standing next to a different chasm. Magic, of course. _They said it wasn't easy to find._ What she wasn't told was that the landing process was sort of…rough, to put it lightly. She would have bruises for days to come.

Ayelin stopped walking and stared wearily in front of her. All that could be seen was a long dirt path, lined with various trees and shrubs, which seemed to go on for miles. In fact, Ayelin was fairly sure that she had been walking for several miles already. The setting sun was definitely a concern as well; she had no intention of walking through this deserted stretch of land in the dark, and yet, she had no place to stay for the night. No water or food, either.

_Great_, she thought bitterly. _My first day on Earth Land, and I'm going to die. _

Sighing, Ayelin decided to take a small detour into the forest to find a possible shelter for the night, much as she hated sleeping outside. She quickly came across a large tree whose roots formed a perfect bed for her. She grabbed some leaves and splayed them across the small bed-sized clearing. Then, she bunched a bunch of leaves together to form a sort of pillow. Satisfied with her work, Ayelin set out to find food.

About ten minutes into her expedition, she came across a small stream, swarming with fish. With a quick, anxious look at the sun – it was setting much faster than she would have liked – she frantically jumped into the stream and grabbed at the fish. Her methods failed, of course, but she was too desperate to worry about practicalities. _I must survive_. This thought pushed her actions to the extreme.

Her efforts resulted in the catching of one medium-sized fish. Triumphantly, she marched back to her camp with the fish in hand, dropped it onto the ground next to her, and quickly grabbed two sticks. She proceeded to rubbing the two sticks together furiously in an effort to make fire.

The sun's rays were just barely peaking over the horizon. Ayelin knew that she only had a short amount of time before the forest would be completely engulfed in darkness, a prospect that scared her. She rubbed the sticks even more vigorously.

_Wait, what am I doing? _She asked herself. _I'm an elemental mage, right? I can make fire!_

Thus, the next ten minutes consisted of her failed attempts to create fire out of thin air, after which she sighed and fell onto her back, defeated.

_Maybe I need to eat fire first, like Natsu does_, Ayelin thought wearily. She glanced over at her catch of the day, the shiny, silver-scaled fish. The sight of the fish, so close to her, made her even hungrier than before. She sat up. _Why am I giving up already?_

Night had already fallen upon the forest, but she barely noticed that. Determinedly, she picked up the two sticks again and rubbed them together.

"I'm Ayelin frickin' Blue for crying out loud," she said through gritted teeth. "I should be able to figure out something as simple as this, right…?"

She saw sparks.

Her hope renewed, she rubbed even harder. _So close…!_

Suddenly, a string of fire flew from the darkness in front of her and lit the two sticks in a burst of flames. Ayelin yelped as she dropped the sticks and crawled backwards several feet from the flaming sticks. Her eyes widened.

_Did I do this?_ She thought, bewildered.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, she saw a shadow move in the darkness in front of her. Her body froze in terror as the shadow moved closer and closer…closer…

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

Ayelin didn't realize she had closed her eyes until the voice startled her eyes open. In front of her, a boy with unruly pink hair was staring at her curiously, his face only inches from hers. She nearly shrieked again; in fact, she would have, had she not recognized the pink-haired figure.

"N-Nat – " she began, but she quickly threw a hand over her mouth and looked down. _I'm not supposed to know who he is, that's right, _she reminded herself. She looked back up at the wide, curious eyes staring at her and spoke timidly. "Er, uh, I'm…" She put on a weak smile. "I'm Ayelin! Ayelin…Red. Nice to meet you!"

Natsu's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her pale, sweating face. Then, as if deciding she wasn't an enemy, he stood back up and smiled at her. "Oh, hey! I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel." He grinned, a wide, toothy smile that Ayelin couldn't help but giggle at. She received a questioning glance from the pink-haired mage when she did this, causing her to stop quickly and look down.

"Anyway," Natsu said slowly, picking up the two flaming sticks, "why were you trying to start a fire by rubbing these two sticks together?" He held the sticks in front of him, looking from one to the other in confusion as if the idea of making fire by rubbing two sticks together was completely insane. _But of course, he is a fire mage_, Ayelin reminded herself. That didn't stop herself from pouting.

"Because that's how I've heard people do it…" Ayelin mumbled, crossing her arms indignantly. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What, you have any better suggestion?"

"Yeah," he replied, grinning toothily. "By using fire magic, of course!"

_He says that like everyone uses fire magic_, Ayelin complained to herself, wanting to point this out to the arrogant fire mage. Instead, she bit her lip – all part of the act – and said, "But I…" _I don't know how to use it yet. _"I, uh, can't use fire magic."

Natsu gave her a curious almost suspicious look. "Really? It looked like you were trying to use it earlier. I just figured that you were messing around when you were rubbing them together…"

Ayelin flushed, not from the guilt of having to lie, but from the embarrassment of her earlier display of a complete lack of magical skill. "No, I was just…just desperate. I can't really use fire magic," she lied, blushing. _Though the desperate part was true…_

Natsu nodded slowly, still staring at her suspiciously through narrowed eyes. Ayelin gulped and looked down. _Oh no, _she though, shaking her head. _I have to look him in the eye! _She wiped her face blank of all emotion and forced herself to meet Natsu's gaze.

Suddenly, he smiled. "Well, I can!" he stated proudly, holding the flaming sticks up in the air as if trying to show them off. "You're damn lucky I passed by when I did."

"I would've found a way to do it myself," Ayelin grumbled. She was growing increasingly annoyed at Natsu's excessive pride, which would be fine if it wasn't at her expense. On the other hand, she was secretly relieved and happy that she had managed to slip beneath the fire mage's radar.

_Wait, I'm speaking as if I AM a criminal! _She thought, almost angrily. _Snap out of it, girl! You're doing this for the sake of the whole fucking world! Stop feeling ashamed!_

She was startled out of her angry pep talk when Natsu suddenly sat down in front of her, legs crossed, eyes gazing at her with sincere curiosity. "So, seriously, why are you out here anyway? Traveling? Mission? Do you belong to a guild around here?"

Ayelin was surprise at the barrage of questions. She hesitated, wondering how she could answer without giving away her situation. "I, uh…" Suddenly, a brilliant thought came to her. She could feel the corners of lips trying to turn up into a sly smile, but she forced herself to keep a blank expression. "I'm not from a guild around here," she said, answering the last question. "In fact, I was trying to look for a guild to join. I heard Magnolia has a really good guild called Fairy Tail." She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "I figured it was worth a shot."

By the look on Natsu's face, she could tell that he had taken the bait.

"Fairy Tail?" he repeated excitedly. "I belong to that guild, you know! It's the best of the best!" Ayelin nodded in agreement, though inwardly she shook her head at the fire mage's shameless boasting.

"Want me to take you there?" he asked sincerely.

She pretended to be surprised and squealed, "Really? You will?" However, she was inwardly smirking. _Victory is mine! Whoever said I couldn't lie?_

Natsu's confident answer – "Yes" – lifted her spirits. Suddenly, she wasn't so tired anymore. Suddenly, she wanted to head out right away to find this guild that she just might become a part of. Suddenly, that fish seemed extremely insignificant.

She jumped up. "Let's go!" she exclaimed excitedly, this time truly excited.

However, Natsu shook his head, his expression suddenly taking on a more worried look. "Er, well, it's probably better to go in the morning anyway." He plopped down next to the fire that he had hastily constructed next to the "bed" and motioned for her to join him. "You should sleep."

Ayelin scrutinized Natsu's seemingly anxious expression and slowly crawled into her makeshift bed. "Er…Natsu…are you alright?"

Natsu nodded slowly.

"Did something happen with the guild? Is that why you don't want to go back right away?"

"Something like that…" he replied, hesitantly. Suddenly, he banged his fists against the grounds. "Dammit, okay, I'll tell you. I can't go back 'cause Erza's gonna kill meeee!" He grabbed his head frantically.

Ayelin blinked. "Erza…oh, I'm not surprised, I guess."

Natsu glanced at her. "You know Erza?"

_Oops. Busted! _"Er, uh, I've definitely heard about her. She's pretty famous. Tends to destroy things. I guess, I sort of expected her to have a sort of violent personality." _Gotta be careful what I say…_

"Yeah, it's completely true!" Natsu whined. "She's, like, a monster!"

Ayelin laughed. "So, what did you do?"

"I went on an S-Rank mission without telling anyone." He grinned again. "I don't regret it at all, actually. It was awesome!"

"But she's still gonna kill you."

Natsu's smile fell. "Yeah…"

Ayelin giggled again. She could feel herself falling in and out of sleep as she rested her head upon the makeshift pillow. She closed her eyes, and then remembered something.

"Oh, Natsu?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for finding me. I was kind of lost."

She could hear Natsu chuckle. "That's what I do. I save people in trouble!"

_He's probably thinking about Lucy_, Ayelin thought, but instead replied, "No, I'm serious!"

"And so am I," Natsu replied with a cheeky grin.

Ayelin turned to face him, her eyes round with mock wide-eyed realization. "You arrogant bastard."

Natsu burst out into laughter. Ayelin quickly fell into fits of laughter as well, though she could hardly tell why. She figured it was from the giddiness of having just met someone as famous in her world as Erza was in his; the only difference was, people in her world didn't think he was real. They never expected to meet him. They probably would never meet him.

But she did.

And just the thought of that, of being special for once, also made her giddy.

She laid back down on her makeshift bed, her back to Natsu, and closed her eyes again. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard him ask another question.

"So, what kind of mage are you, exactly?"

Ayelin was silent for a moment. She knew this question was going to come. But she couldn't reveal her full identity, so the half-truth would have to do. But what was the half-truth?

She held her hand out in front of her as if searching for an answer. She moved it side to side. She held it in different positions. She waved it back and forth. Suddenly, during one of her movements, she saw the tiniest sparkle of mist-like crystals, which landed on the ground below and melted immediately. Studying her hand, she finally found an answer. She spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Ice. I'm an ice mage."

"Just like Gray," she heard Natsu mumble quietly. She heard him chuckle. "Cool."

She hoped he would not ask any more questions; she was tired of lying. Thankfully, within a few minutes, she heard him snoring loudly next to him. Content, she herself fell into a peaceful slumber and dreamt about her future days with the Fairy Tail guild…

If only…

* * *

><p>The next day, she was awakened by a loud, angry Natsu, who was yelling at some birds or something for taking away his food. At the sound of food, Ayelin's stomach rumbled. She quickly sat up, spotted her fish from the other day on the ground a few feet away, and reached for it eagerly, only for it to be snatched away quickly by the hungry fire mage.<p>

Ayelin glared at him as he quickly cooked the fish to a crisp and gobbled it down in only a couple bites. He didn't seem to notice her glare, so she just sighed and sat there angrily in defeat. When he was done, he licked his fingers off with a satisfied grunt.

"Finished yet?" Ayelin grumbled, arms crossed.

"Mmm, yeah," Natsu replied, licking his lips. "That hit the spot! Lucky I found it there or else I would've gone hungry."

_Yeah, lucky for you_, Ayelin thought bitterly.

Natsu glanced at her. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing," she snapped.

Natsu's eyes widened. "Whoa. Okay. Something's wrong. What happened?"

"…I'm hungry," she replied, avoiding the fire mage's eyes. _And I want to strangle you right now. But it's hard to stay mad at you when you have absolutely no idea what you've done wrong. _She sighed. _Your eyes say it all._

"Okay…" Natsu said slowly. Suddenly, realization flickered in his wide eyes. "Oh! You wanted that fish, didn't you?"

Ayelin sighed in utter defeat. "No. Never mind. Let's just get going."

Natsu looked at her confusedly for a little longer, and then shrugged indifferently. "Okay. Sure." He picked up his stuff. He saw a piece of paper on the ground next to the makeshift bed and picked that up to. "Oh, hey, is this yours?"

Ayelin's eyes grew wide with horror for a second as she saw him clutching the note from Igneel. She lunged for the paper and yelled, "No!" snatching it from his grasp. He let go immediately, surprise coloring his expression. Ayelin immediately felt guilty.

"Er, uh," she stammered, trying to salvage the situation. "I meant yes. That is mine. It's…important to me. Sorry I yelled."

He was still giving her a confused look, but he replied, "It's okay."

Ayelin looked down, blushing out of embarrassment as she held the note to her chest and then slipped it into her pocket.

"Oh, by the way," Natsu began, acting as if nothing weird had happened, "what's your name again?"

"Ayelin," she replied. "Ayelin Bl – er, Red."

"Ayelin Blered?" he said, puzzlement evident on his face.

"Ayelin Red," she corrected quickly. "Sorry, my bad."

He shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about." Then, he chuckled. "You're kinda weird, you know that, Aye?"

Ayelin gave him a quizzical look. "Aye?" she repeated.

Natsu grinned. "Much easier to remember than Ayelin. Besides, it's what my friend Happy always…" He trailed off suddenly, his eyes becoming more distant as if seeing something that wasn't there. Ayelin was about to ask what was wrong when she saw him shake his head and mumble, "Never mind. Let's get going."

Ayelin stared at his back as she watched him walk away, worry creased on her forehead. _Come to think of it,_ she thought_, I haven't seen Happy. I thought they were always together. _She bit her lip worriedly. _I wonder what's wrong…I wonder if it has something to do with whatever Acnologia is here for…_ This realization hit her like a brick, causing her heart to race. _Oh no. Does that mean bad things are already happening? I need to find that damned dragon, and fast…!_

"You coming?"

She snapped out of her frantic thoughts only to realize that Natsu had already disappeared behind the trees. "Er, yeah!" she shouted in reply, keeping her emotions out of her voice. "Give me a sec!"

Ayelin held her hand up again, waving it back and forth as she did the night before, and watched the misty shimmer of ice crystals flurry to the ground. With each wave of her hand, more ice crystals appeared. After a few moments, she gripped her hand into a fist and stared at it intently.

It worried her that everything was happening so quickly. How much time did she have before it was too late? Could she learn enough by then to earn the right to find Acnologia, as Metalicana had to aptly put it? She could feel her breath shortening as the feelings of stress and panic came upon her like waves on a beach, one after the other. Her fist was still clenched, as if she were afraid that letting go would mean giving into to these intense feelings.

But was it fear? Fear of what? She had to wonder exactly what she feared. This wasn't her world, after all, that was in danger. She had barely been there for twelve hours. So why was she so afraid?

The ice crystals that shimmered their goodbyes on the ground said it all. She was afraid of herself. What she possessed. What she could do. And, even more frightening, what she couldn't do. What she wouldn't be able to do when the world needed her most. That was frightening. Even so, she wanted to save this world with whatever power she could muster, even if the only power she had was a few, tiny ice crystals.

_Acnologia_, she thought, determinedly,_ I WILL find you! By my own power! _She released her grip. _Just like the dragons said I could…right?_

"Aye?"

The leaves on the surrounding trees rustled in the wind, whispering reassurances. She could hear it. As if something was talking to her.

_Listen to the dragons…_

With a finally squeeze of her fist, Aye ran after Natsu.

"I told you, I'm coming!"

* * *

><p>"Well, here we are. Welcome to Fairy Tail!"<p>

Natsu entered the doors, spreading his arms wide as he gestured to the entirety of the guild, who were drinking, laughing, and fighting amongst each other. Ayelin stood outside the doorway, her limbs frozen as she realized what she was about to do.

_I'm about to enter Fairy Tail. I'm about to join the Fairy Tail guild. _

_Oh._

_My._

_Fucking._

_God._

Natsu suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the building impatiently. Ayelin yelped in response and quickly batted his hand away.

"Hey!" she said angrily. "I was trying to savor the moment!"

"Yeah, well, you were taking too long," the pink-haired mage replied.

"And what makes you think you can just drag me in here anyway, huh?" Ayelin retorted, hands on her hips as she took an offensive stance.

Natsu shrugged. "Like I said, you were taking too long."

Ayelin rolled her eyes. _What a child_. "You're just impatient."

"So?"

"…you arrogant bastard."

Natsu chuckled. "Now where've I heard that before?"

"I said it once, and I'll say it as many times as it takes for you to understand it," Ayelin stated, wagging a disapproving finger in Natsu's face. "AR-RO-GANT BA-STARD."

Natsu didn't respond. She did, however, realize that the loudness of her voice was garnering more and more attention from the guild members, many of whom were now staring at her quizzically, some even suspiciously.

Ayelin gulped, suddenly afraid. She was, after all, weak compared to these members. She didn't even know how to use her own magic. How would she fit in…?

"Hello! New friend of Natsu's?"

The sweet voice came out of nowhere, causing Ayelin to jump. She blushed as she realized that it was only Mirajane, who was smiling at her reassuringly. _I need to stop spacing out_, Ayelin thought bitterly. Of course, this was easier said than done; Ayelin watched in amazement as an angry half-naked boy (obviously Gray) threw a powerful punch at an unsuspecting, white-haired man who yelled something about Gray's nakedness not being appropriate in front of the ladies (obviously Elfman). She immediately forgot about Mirajane's question in favor of this scarily violent, yet humorous, scene.

"I just met her last night outside of the town," Natsu answered in her place, holding his hands behind his head, obviously relaxed and at home in this rowdy environment.

Ayelin was barely listening. Her eyes still wide with awe and excitement, she made a game of naming each character in the room.

_That's obviously Juvia, she's clinging onto Gray so much. _She smiled knowingly to herself. _Oh, and that's Levy! With Jet and Droy behind her, cheering for her! Gosh, I wonder if they really know how to do anything useful…oh! Wendy! With Charle…!_ Ayelin's thoughts fleetingly wandered to Happy. _I wonder what he's doing…_ She glanced at Charle again. _I wonder if she knows. She's psychic after all…_

"Aye, what are you looking at?"

"Oh, I was just – " Ayelin began as she turned to face who she thought was Natsu, only to come face-to-face with the ever-happy Mirajane, who was leaning against the counter resting her chin against her hands and looking at her with a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

Ayelin paused confusedly for a second. She looked around and spotted Natsu over at the table with Gray, yelling something at him in a very Natsu-like way. Then, she pointed to herself. "Were you talking to me?"

Mirajane nodded, still smiling. "Uh huh. Aye. That's a cute name."

_Oh, I get it_, Ayelin thought, sighing. She shook her head. "My name is actually Ayelin. Ayelin Red. That pink-haired bastard over there apparently likes to call me Aye."

"Probably because it reminds him of Happy," Mirajane said thoughtfully, giggling. "He's off on a mission in Edola with the Master right now, though."

_Oh, I see..._ Ayelin thought, as she replied, "Yeah…"

"Do you know Happy?"

Ayelin's eyes grew wide as she realized her mistake. She quickly tried to salvage it. "Oh, uh, well, Natsu mentioned it briefly, actually," she replied quickly.

Mirajane gazed at her curiously, worry – and something else unrecognizable – evident in her eyes. "Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

Ayelin looked her in the eyes, forcing herself to keep calm. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she replied slowly. Then, she added, "Guess I'm just nervous. I've kinda always wanted to be in this guild."

Whatever Ayelin had seen in Mirajane's eyes before disappeared, replaced by the usual glittering playfulness with the added bright smile. "Oh!" she exclaimed, giggling. "That's what you're here for, huh?"

Ayelin nodded. "Yup. Pretty much."

"So you're a mage then? What kind of mage are you?"

"Ice," Ayelin replied quickly, smiling when she realized that she didn't hesitate this time. _I'm an ice mage_, she said to herself proudly.

"Oh, so you're like Gray, huh?" Mirajane said teasingly. "I wonder if you two would get along then."

Innocently, Ayelin asked, "Who's Gray?"

Mirajane nodded her head towards the place where Natsu was. Gray was standing up next to him, yelling something crude and unintelligible at the fire mage. "That's him," Mirajane said simply. "The one with no shirt."

"Or pants for that matter," Ayelin muttered.

Mirajane shrugged,a happy smile still plastered on her face. "It's worse than that, sometimes."

"No underwear?" Ayelin queried, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Ew. That's just wrong."

Mirajane nodded in agreement. "So, where would you like the mark?"

Ayelin blinked in surprise. "What?"

Mirajane giggled. "The Fairy Tail mark, of course! Natsu has it on his arm. Gray has it on his chest…"

"You mean it's that simple?" Ayelin asked, still surprised. "I don't have to…I dunno…fight anyone or something to get in?"

Mirajane shrugged. "Eh. Not really. We trust that our members can bring in competent mages, and since Natsu brought you in…" She smiled. "I guess you're hired!"

Ayelin should have felt happy, but somehow, she actually felt guilty, as if she didn't deserve to be there. "I-I…" she began shakily. "I don't think I'm very good. Not good at all, really…"

Mirajane titled her head in confusion. "But didn't you say you wanted to join this guild?"

"Yes, of course!" Ayelin replied quickly. "I just…I don't want to let anyone down…"

Mirajane laughed. "Come to think of it, Natsu brought another girl in here a while back. She wanted to be in Fairy Tail, too. Lucy. Maybe you've heard of her?"

"Er, I think so…" Ayelin responded carefully.

"Well," Mirajane continued, resting her chin on her hands again, "after a while, she started to feel like she was extremely weak. She felt like she always needed saving. But she's getting better and better every day. Even I can see it! She's determined to become the strongest Celestial Spirit Mage she can be!" Suddenly, she stared Ayelin straight in the eyes. "Are you willing to work to become the strongest mage you can be?"

Ayelin felt uncomfortable under Mirajane's gaze which seemed to look straight into her thoughts, as if she knew what Ayelin was really up to. Ayelin shifted her stance, but refused to break contact with woman's eyes.

"Of course."

Mirajane smiled again, the intensity leaving her eyes. "Then, take this opportunity. You have nothing to worry about."

Ayelin nodded slowly. Then, her gaze fell to the ground. "Mirajane…"

"Yes?"

Ayelin was silent for a moment. Then, she looked back up at the woman in front of her, her mouth open as if she was trying to say something but no words were coming out. She shut her mouth quickly, paused for another moment, and then gave a weak smile. "Can I have the mark here, please?" she asked, pointing to the top part of her wrist.

Before Mirajane could go through with the action, a flying chair crashed in between them, throwing them apart. Ayelin fell back onto the ground with a yell, her eyes widening as a tall man with long black hair and serious expression advanced in her direction. She scrambled to her feet, and, mustering all the courage she could, glared at the man.

"What was that for?" she yelled angrily. "You could have hurt someone!"

The man snorted indifferently, still glaring at her with those intense eyes. _Gajeel_, Ayelin thought with a gulp. _This is most definitely Gajeel._

Ayelin swallowed, and then attempted to repeat her question, when suddenly Gajeel was up in her face, glaring her down.

"Who are you?" he hissed suspiciously. "You're not from around here."

"N-No, I'm not," Ayelin stammered in reply, keeping her gaze steady despite her shaking voice. "What does it matter to you?"

Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he moved closer to her face, much to Ayelin's surprise. When he was only an inch from her face, at most, his hiss came out as a quiet whisper.

"You smell like dragon."

Ayelin froze. Her mouth gaped open as she registered what this man had just said. _You smell like dragon_. Was that something that was easily recognized? How could he tell? More importantly, how could Natsu not tell?

By this point, everyone in the room was quietly witnessing this intense encounter. Ayelin's eyes darted around her as she took in the wary looks of the guild members. She gulped, readying herself to reply.

"I don't quite understand what you me – " Ayelin began with a steady, slightly annoyed tone.

"GOD DAMMIT, DON'T SHIT AROUND WITH ME, I CAN SMELL IT!" the metal dragonslayer exploded, grabbing Ayelin by the shoulders and pushing her violently away. She didn't have time to react; she fell back several feet from where she was originally standing, gasping as her head hit the wooden floor with a painful thud.

She sat up, wincing as her head throbbed. But she knew that she couldn't show weakness, especially in the face of this angry dragonslayer, who was once again advancing on her. He picked her up by the collar and spoke threateningly. "Tell me. Why do you smell like dragon. You been hiding them? Keeping them for yourself? Torturing them maybe…?" he trailed off, his eyes narrowing further as Ayelin's expression remained frustratingly blank, though fear was evident in her eyes.

"Why won't you answer me?" he murmured threatening, evil intent glistening in his eyes.

Ayelin felt torn between frustration, panic, and pity. Yes, she pitied him. Pitied him because she knew exactly why he was so angry. Unfortunately, she also knew that she had to protect the secret she held, even at the expense of her own life. _If Gajeel knew where Metalicana was, he would surely go there and then…_

And then what? Surely it couldn't be something good, if the dragons were so desperately trying to hide their location, even from their own foster children. As Ayelin realized this, her expression turned grim.

"Not feeling so confident now, are you?" she heard Gajeel hiss.

"Oh, will you stop it!" she yelled angrily, pushing the surprised dragonslayer away. "This is ridiculous! The dragons haven't been seen for years now and you think someone like me could be hiding them? You must be insane!"

Gajeel was frozen, his eyes wide in shock as he finally took in what she said. The onlookers began murmuring amongst themselves. Ayelin's eyes darted to Natsu, who was watching her with a confused expression.

Suddenly, Gajeel snapped out of the shock. His glare was suspicious as he looked at Ayelin and circled her like a shark. "Okay then. Tell me. Where are you from?"

The question caught her off-guard. "Er, uh, well…um…"

"Um?" the metal dragonslayer pressed.

"…I'd honestly rather not talk about that," Ayelin answered slowly, keeping her gaze steady and unreadable.

"And why not?"

"I'm allowed to have my own life, aren't I?" Ayelin replied, bristling with anger.

The suspicion only deepened in the mage's eyes as he continued to glare at her. "…okay. Then, why did you come here?"

_Easy_. "Because I wanted to join the guild. What's wrong with that?"

Gajeel glowered as he strode over to her and spat angrily in her face. "I'll tell you what's wrong. You're up to something, girl, I can tell. People don't just walk around smelling like dragons!"

Ayelin's anger boiled, but she was also feeling increasingly nervous. "Natsu, help me out here!" she nearly yelled, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

When she received no reply, she looked at him. "N-Natsu?"

He stood next to Gray, an expression of hesitation and confusion on his face. "Aye," he said, his voice strained. "I don't know. You do smell an awful lot like dragon…"

Ayelin's eyes widened with shock. _Is this…betrayal?_ She quickly turned her head away from the hesitant pink-haired mage and face Gajeel again, her eyes steely and determined. Natsu would be of no help here. _He had his chance, _she thought bitterly.

"What are you hiding?" Gajeel muttered, still glaring at her.

Ayelin glared at him as well. "Your sense of smell must be failing you, _dragonslayer_," she hissed. Then, she realized what she had said; she quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.

Gajeel's eyes narrowed even further. "So you know who I am." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

_I can't back out of this one_, Ayelin admitted to herself. She nodded, still keeping her expression blank. "I know that you're a dragonslayer. I've heard about you guys in this guild."

Gajeel's hardened eyes did not soften, indicating that he did not fall for her simple explanation. However, he said no more on this matter. "I see," was all he said in reply.

Then, he turned his back to her. "One more question."

No response.

"What kind of mage are you?"

Ayelin quickly began to respond, only to be cut off by Gajeel's curt statement. "And don't say Ice Mage. I know you're not an Ice Mage."

Ayelin had to smile slyly at this. Oh, if only he knew that, while he was essentially right, he wouldn't be able to prove otherwise. _I can use ice magic after all_, she thought smugly.

"I'm an Ice Mage," she told him proudly, standing up straight. "I don't understand what's so unbelievable about that."

Gajeel stared at her for a moment. Then, he spoke again, a smile forming on his face. "Well then, _Ice Mage_, if you're so sure…why don't we have a fight?"

Ayelin blinked, her previous confidence out the window. "W-What?"

"Just what I said," Gajeel said, smiling cruelly. "A fight. Between us. If you win, you can stay. But if you lose…"

"I have to leave," Ayelin finished for him, her voice barely a whisper.

"Precisely."

Her heart raced in her chest as she saw the evil intent in his eyes. He was serious. He knew something was up. In another part of her brain, Ayelin was boiling with anger. That part of brain was screaming bloody murder at him for not recognizing that she was sent here to watch over him by his own foster parent, the same parent who he was accusing her of having stolen and tortured. However, the fear and panic of having nearly been discovered had overtaken her body, paralyzing her with the horror of the realization.

The onlookers all looked at her with the same suspicion that was evident in Gajeel's eyes. She gave one last pleading glance at Natsu. His expression had changed; now, his eyes reflected a mixture of sadness and regret that pierced Ayelin straight through the heart. He was sad. And he regretted something…_what? Having ever met me? Having ever taken me here? _Ayelin's thoughts grew bitterer as the hurt of having been betrayed by someone she thought trusted her seeped into her consciousness. _Of course, he's going to trust Gajeel more_, she tried to reason with herself. _He's only known me since last night!_ Still, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. Hurt. Alone.

She was alone.

She looked around her. Suspicious glares and wary looks surrounded her, like a nightmare that she could never wake up from. The horror on her face became more and more apparent as she forgot to control her emotions. What had she done wrong?

"Guys, stop it!" she heard Mirajane scold her comrades. "Can't you see that you're scaring her?"

Ayelin looked at Mirajane, who smiled at her reassuringly, and smiled back. _No_, she thought, touching the note in her pocket. _I'm not alone. Why would I even think that? _She suddenly grinned. _I have dragons on my side after all._

"I accept your challenge!"

The shocked silence that followed made Ayelin's grin grow even wider out of satisfaction. Gajeel's blank eyes only stared into hers, searching for something that he apparently couldn't find, before he growled his own satisfaction and grinned as well. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Ayelin smirked. "Don't get your hopes up. You may be disappointed."

He scowled before stalking off towards the main door. Before he exited, he stopped and peered over his shoulder at Ayelin. "I know you're bluffing, kid. I'll give you one week to get your shit together. Then, we'll fight." With that, he left.

Ayelin blinked. _A whole week? Why not tomorrow?_ She had no idea what was going on in that man's head, but inwardly, she thanked him for it. Somehow, with that small gesture, she felt as if he was trying to help her.

She smiled. _Maybe he's not so bad after all…_

"Er, Aye?"

Ayelin turned to face Mirajane, who was looking at her worriedly. "Yes?"

Mirajane pulled her closer and whispered into her ear. "You sure you're going to be alright? They aren't going to allow you back in here, it seems…"

Ayelin glanced wearily at the suspicious stares. "Eh. I don't think I wanna come back here just yet." She grinned. "It's okay. I'll find a place to stay, and I'll practice hard so I can come see you again, alright?"

Mirajane smiled warmly in return. "Alright, then. Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Ayelin said as she jogged to the door, which was opening to reveal an extremely happy blonde girl who leaped through the doors and ran straight to Natsu to tell him some exciting news or something. Ayelin grinned. _That's Lucy, for sure._ Then, with one last regretful glance at Natsu, she left.

"Where to now?" Ayelin murmured to herself, walking away from the guild with an odd pain in her chest. Sadly, she faced the guild again. Then, she pointed at the door. "Mark my words, Fairy Tail! I'll be back! MARK MY WORDS!"

Then, she ran off as fast as she could, a determined look on her face, until she reached a bridge. Panting, she leaned over the railing and looked at the water below, admiring the soft waves and gentle curves of the water below.

She saw a tear fall.

_It's okay to be sad for a while, right, Igneel?_ She thought. _It's okay to miss home. Right? But don't worry. It'll go away soon. I promised you I'd watch over those three, I'll keep that promise._

She grabbed the note in her pocket and pressed it to her forehead to cover her face, which was streaked with tears that refused to stop flowing.

Igneel's parting words rang in her head. _We'll be watching over you_.

She faced the sky, tears still streaking her face, and gave a sad smile. "Are you watching me now?" she murmured. "Because I'm going to change. This is me right now. But I'll be different tomorrow. I promise to be strong." _I promised…_

_But is it okay to cry?_

She knew the answer, even if the warm wind didn't whisper it in her ear.

_Go ahead. We'll be watching over you._

So she cried.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yes, chapter 2 officially done! So, what do you think so far? I worked hard on this chapter! **

**Anyway, review, please!**

**Hits (as of 1/19/12): 31**

**Gosh, that's lame…**

**Oh well. XD**

_**A preview of what's to come**_**..**

**Ayelin's rejection from the guild has hurt her, but she doesn't plan to let that stop her from defeating Gajeel. She immediately begins working to hone her ice magic skills, only to be interupted by a certain Fairy Tail mage who offers to help her...who could this be? Find out next time in Chapter 3: To Be Stronger.**


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